March 20 in Tigers and mlb history:
1888: Albert Spalding announces a baseball tour to Australia next winter with his Chicago team and a squad of National League All-Stars.
1889: A New York sporting goods house receives an order for bats, balls, and other baseball equipment from Mr. Hiroka of Tokyo, Japan. In his letter he says that baseball "has been played there for several months" and that a baseball association would soon be organized.
1912: Ossie Vitt gets a wheelbarrow ride from Jack Onslow at Spring Training.
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1915: The Boston Braves break ground on Commonwealth Avenue and begin construction of Braves Field. Owner James E. Gaffney wants a large enough park so that inside-the-park homers can be hit in three directions. The field will open on August 18th.
1918: Although the major leagues optimistically keep the schedules at 154 games, the owners agree to halve the spring training time in an attempt to save money with the United States now engaged in World War I, as the St. Louis Cardinals open their camp at Hot Springs, Arkansas. In fact, the season's last month will never be played, with the World Series starting at the beginning of September.
1934: Mildred Didrickson (also known as Babe Zaharias), the renowned all-around female athlete, pitches the 1st inning for the Philadelphia Athletics in a spring training exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
She gives up one walk but no hits. Two days later she pitches again, this time one inning for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox.
Didrickson is less successful the second time, giving up four hits and three runs. Bill Hallahan relieves her, as she does not have an at bat in either game. She will also play several games for the House of David this season.
Didrickson is the second female to play exhibitions with a major league team. Previously, first baseman Lizzie Murphy played for an American League All-Star team on August 14, 1922.
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1935: At St. Petersburg, the St. Louis Cardinals set a spring training record, drawing 6,467 in a match against the Boston Braves. The big draw is Babe Ruth, who hits a towering fly against Dizzy Dean, then, after Dean departs, laces two doubles into the overflowing crowd. The Cardinals win, 5 - 4.
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1936: New York
#Yankees rookie Joe DiMaggio gets a spring training hit wearing uniform #18! Joe would end up wearing #9 during the '36 regular season before switching to his famous #5 the following year!
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1937: The Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues acquire future Hall of Famers Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson for $2,500 in cash and a pair of journeymen players. The trade is considered the largest transaction in the history of the Negro Leagues.
1943: Indian Bob Johnson, a longtime Philadelphia Athletics fan favorite, is traded to the Washington Senators in exchange for outfielder Bobby Estalella and infielder Jimmy Pofahl. Johnson has led the Athletics in RBI in each of the last seven seasons - no team has ever traded a slugger with that mark.
1953: U.S. Senator Edwin C. Johnson offers a bill to give clubs the sole right to ban radio-TV broadcasts of major league games in their own territory. The antitrust division of the Justice Department outlawed this practice in 1949. Johnson believes that it started the decline of baseball in small towns and cities throughout the country. His bill aims to restore the equity between large communities and the small areas.
1954: The Chicago Cubs send shortstop Roy Smalley to the Milwaukee Braves for pitcher Dave Cole, opening up the shortstop job for Ernie Banks.
1961: The New York Yankees of the American League announce the team will oppose any plan that would enable the new National League expansion franchise in New York, NY to use Yankee Stadium. This decision leaves the old Polo Grounds as the only viable option for the NL's new team, the New York Mets, who will begin play in a year's time.
1973: Roberto Clemente becomes the first Hispanic American to gain election to the Hall of Fame. The Baseball Writers Association of America announces the results of a special ballot, with Clemente receiving 393 of 424 votes. Clemente died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve. In light of his tragic death, the Hall's Board of Directors waived the five-year waiting period that is normally required before a player is eligible for election. A 12-time All-Star, Clemente batted .317 and won a dozen Gold Gloves over an 18-year career.
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1979: The Detroit Tigers traded Steve Dillard to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. The Chicago Cubs sent Ed Putman (March 24, 1979) to the Detroit Tigers to complete the trade.
1984: Hall of Fame pitcher Stan Coveleski dies in South Bend, Indiana, at the age of 94. Coveleski pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators and New York Yankees over a 14-season career, winning 215 games, which included five 20-win seasons.
1989: Commissioner Peter Ueberroth announces that he has begun an investigation into the behavior of Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose. Ueberroth doesn't identify the allegations against Rose, but the Reds' skipper will eventually be banished for his alleged involvement with gambling.
1992: The Detroit Tigers signed Fernando Valenzuela as a free agent. Valenzuela will play in the Mexican League this year.
1992: The San Diego Padres selected Steve Pegues off waivers from the Detroit Tigers.
1997: The Detroit Tigers released Jason Grimsley.
1998: The Cincinnati Reds traded Tim Belk to the Detroit Tigers for Kevin Baez.
2000: The new World Umpires Association agrees to consolidate all umpires as part of an interim agreement with the commissioner's office. The umpires will merge into a single unit reporting directly to Major League Baseball this season, after being employed by either the National League or the American League since the latter's creation in 1901.
2002: The commissioner's office announces that Major League Baseball will continue the practice that began after the September 11 attacks of singing God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch in each team's first homestand. In addition, a Flag of the United States patch will be worn on the jackets of all 30 major league teams this season and special logos will be used on Opening Day, Memorial Day weekend and the Fourth of July, with Canadian versions designed for the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos.
2010: The Detroit Tigers signed Casey Fien as a free agent.
2019: The Major League season opens at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, with the A's hosting the Mariners in the first game of a two-game series. While most of the early attention is directed at 45-year-old Ichiro Suzuki, who starts in right field for Seattle, it's the sluggers who define the game as the Mariners prevail, 9 - 7.
Tigers players and coaches birthdays:
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Paddy Greene. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Paddy Greene 1903.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Al Klawitter. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Al Klawitter 1913.
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Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Vern Kennedy. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Vern Kennedy 1938-1939.
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Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Chuck Seelbach. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Chuck Seelbach 1971-1974.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Will Brunson. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Will Brunson 1998-1999.
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Steve McCatty coach 2002.
Tigers players who passed away:
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Bob Fothergill. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Bob 'Fatty' Fothergill 1922-1930.
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Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Gee Walker. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Gee Walker 1931-1937.
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Luis Alvarado. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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Luis Alvarado 1977.
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